This invention relates to systems for dispensing more than one viscous material from a pressurized aerosol container having a standard one-inch (2.54 cm) top opening. The viscous materials are kept separate from each other during storage inside the container. Each viscous material is dispensed through a separate valve. In use, a single actuator activates each of the valves allowing the separate viscous materials to pass out of the container and to be mixed together in a mixing tube.
Many viscous products are made up of two or more viscous components which must be mixed, in given proportions, only at the time of application. Mixing of the components prior to the time of application will render many such products useless.
The prior art is aware of dispensing single viscous materials such as resins, sealing compounds, dental compositions, adhesives, paints, and the like from single aerosol containers. Also commonly known are methods of dispensing two viscous materials simultaneously from two separate tubes, cartridges, or aerosol containers. In these systems, two separate containers are necessary.
The prior art is also aware of dispensing two viscous materials contained in two separate aerosol containers shrink-wrapped together and equipped with a common valve actuator that is large enough to span both containers and dispense the two materials simultaneously into a common mixing tube. While this permits the administration of the desired ratios of viscous materials, the container is cumbersome and expensive.
Miezka, in U.S. Pat. No. 5,012,951, discloses a system for dispensing viscous materials from a pressurized container. The system comprises a container which is closed at the bottom by a dome-shaped bulkhead and at the top by a funnel, through which dispensing ports are fitted. Inner containers are pressed to dispense their viscous contents by the internal pressure of the loaded propellant. A venting valve through the funnel controls the dispensing rate. The funnel is made from a thin outer skin, secured to the container by a crimped edge, with inner reinforcing walls to take up the pressure distortion. This device contains two separate dispensing valves with no mention of a mixing tube. The funnel is unique to the container of the above patented device, and is not standard equipment readily available in the art. The valves of this system are separated from each other. Thus, the use of a single actuator would be difficult. No actuator is mentioned by the patent.
As can be seen, a need exists for improvement in simultaneous pressurized dispensing of multiple viscous materials from a single container. The object of the present invention is to provide improvements in this area.
The storage and dispensing system of the present invention fits the presently standard one-inch (2.54 cm) opening in the top of common aerosol containers. The multi-valve dispensing system of the present invention allows different viscous materials to be simultaneously dispensed in predetermined proportions. As the separate materials are ejected from the multi-valve container, they enter a standard mixing tube for blending so that the final product is a mixed combination of the separate materials contained in the container.
A key feature of the present invention is a multi-valve. Each multi-valve contains one or more inlet stems which permit the attachment of different devices for storage of different viscous materials. In one arrangement of the present system, one of the inlet stems permits dispensing of the material without the attachment of any devices. Another arrangement allows the viscous material to pass to the valve through a dip tube. In a further arrangement, the viscous material is contained in a collapsible bag having an outlet which is attached directly to the valve inlet.
The multi-valve components are incorporated into a single valve body. In the valve body are two or more standard spring-loaded valve plungers that, when depressed, open valve ports through which the pressurized viscous materials can flow from the container. The size of the valve ports are varied to obtain the desired rate of flow of the dispensed product. The spring-loaded plungers are depressed by manual pressure applied through the valve actuator that fits on top of the valve. The valve plungers can be of the standard xe2x80x9cmalexe2x80x9d, xe2x80x9cfemalexe2x80x9d, or xe2x80x9ctiltxe2x80x9d type commonly used by the industry. Additionally, the present invention describes a novel omnidirectional check valve which permits the flow of the viscous materials to the multi-valve regardless of the position of the container.
A wide variety of storage and delivery methods is possible in carrying out the present invention. Four possible combinations for storage and delivery of multiple pressurized viscous materials are described in detail in combination with the multi-valve of the present invention. These are:
1. A system using two or more collapsible bags;
2. A system using a barrier liner and one or more collapsible bags;
3. A system using a dip tube and one or more collapsible bags; and
4. A system using a dip tube in combination with one or more collapsible bags with an omnidirectional valve.